In the middle of Campus Progress' battle to make college affordable for all Americans, a new report says higher education costs rose drastically last year, putting a degree even further out of reach for thousands of young people.

According to the College Board, from July 2008 to July 2009, tuition and fees for four-year public colleges rose an average of 6.5 percent, to $15,213. At private four-year institutions, costs went up 4.4 percent, to $35,636.

It's grim news, and grimmer still is this:

At public four-year colleges, the report found, two-thirds of the grant money is given as merit aid, that is, without considering the recipient’s financial need.

In other words, as college tuitions skyrocket, public universities are reserving the lion's share of their aid money for their most academically inclined students, who, multiple studies show, generally need that aid less than their lower-performing counterparts.

Nothing new here: It's getting harder to be poor in America.